Consumo de exames imagiológicos nos hospitais distritais em Portugal continental entre 2002 e 2006 : análise dos dados disponibilizados on-line pela ACSS

Nos últimos anos verificou-se uma evolução significativa dos equipamentos de diagnóstico por imagem, tendo como consequência um aumento do número de exames realizados. A nível internacional assistiu-se a um aumento no consumo de exames de Tomografia Computorizada e Ressonância Magnética e uma estagnação de exames de Radiologia Geral. Este estudo pretende avaliar o consumo de exames imagiológicos nos Hospitais Distritais de Portugal Continental entre 2002-2006, consoante o tipo de Gestão hospitalar e valências imagiológicas disponíveis. Os dados analisados estavam disponíveis on-line na Associação Central dos Sistemas de Saúde. Analisaram-se 36 Hospitais, sendo 21 E.P.E. e 15 S.P.A. Foi observado um crescimento médio de 11% na valência de Radiologia Geral, 48,8% em Mamografia, 11,2% em Ecografia, 24,9% em Tomografia Computorizada e 32,5% em Ressonância Magnética. Constatou-se ainda que a valência de Ressonância Magnética apenas se encontra disponível nos Hospitais E.P.E.. Concluiu-se que apesar da aparente fragilidade dos dados disponíveis, nos Hospitais E.P.E. foi evidente uma maior capacidade tecnológica, que se traduz numa maior disponibilidade de equipamentos e técnicas. O comportamento das técnicas avaliadas é semelhante às referências internacionais, com excepção de RG, onde foi observada uma clara tendência de crescimento.

A gestão pedagógica do ensino e aprendizagem on-line : especificidades

A gestão pedagógica do ensino e aprendizagem on-line: especificidades abordam os desafios da Gestão do Projeto Pedagógico que tem as Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação por base didático-pedagógica. O fenômeno constitui-se na gestão do ensino-aprendizagem de curso lato senso a distância, no uso do computador conectado à internet, e a formação do educador especialista responsável pela coordenação, ensino, avaliação e/ou monitoria a frente do trabalho educativo. Reflete sobre os desafios da práxis pedagógica, subsidiada pela busca questionadora das tecnologias, a fim de responder também à demanda por inclusão sócio-digital. A abordagem metodológica de natureza qualitativa pauta-se na interpretação da realidade, de caráter hermenêutico com o intuito de considerar a experiência vivida pelos sujeitos na educação on-line a partir de uma visão crítica. Questiona o descompasso da educação formal brasileira e os avanços sociais com as incorporações de novas tecnologias de aprendizagens. Estabelece nas análises, a relação entre as teorias que sedimentam os objetivos do curso, as práticas de gestão e as influências ideológicas que marcam esse cenário, no PIGEAD da Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro Brasil, período de 2010 a 2012. Os resultados desta pesquisa mostram que a interatividade, diferencial que aproxima o indivíduo e o torna parte da comunicação estabelecida na EAD on-line, não ocorre plenamente entre os sujeitos do processo. Além disso, a gestão democrática participativa declarada em seus objetivos de formação se mostra na realidade como prática centralizadora, sinalizando um descompasso entre teoria e prática. Esta pesquisa, entre outros, oferece elementos de avaliação e aprimoramento ao PIGEAD.

Cisplatin ototoxicity and hair cell regeneration in the zebrafish lateral line

Hair cell death and regeneration on the zebrafish posterior lateral line was investigated after cisplatin administration. Hair cell regeneration was first observed by 24 hours of recovery and was further analyzed after specific recovery intervals. Disruption of the notch signaling pathways by the y-secretase inhibitor DAPT resulted in an increase in hair cells at three days of recovery.

History does not move in a straight line. CEPS Commentary, 5 July 2012

Eight years have passed since the EU launched its European Neighbourhood Policy, aimed at inducing its neighbours to the east to converge on modern European values and economic norms. In this Commentary, Michael Emerson reflects on the curious and circuitous turn of events in the region during this period. Michael Emerson is Senior Associate Research Fellow at CEPS.

Avian mortalities due to transmission line collisions: a review of current estimates and field methods with an emphasis on applications to the Canadian electric network

Birds are vulnerable to collisions with human-made fixed structures. Despite ongoing development and increases in infrastructure, we have few estimates of the magnitude of collision mortality. We reviewed the existing literature on avian mortality associated with transmission lines and derived an initial estimate for Canada. Estimating mortality from collisions with power lines is challenging due to the lack of studies, especially from sites within Canada, and due to uncertainty about the magnitude of detection biases. Detection of bird collisions with transmission lines varies due to habitat type, species size, and scavenging rates. In addition, birds can be crippled by the impact and subsequently die, although crippling rates are poorly known and rarely incorporated into estimates. We used existing data to derive a range of estimates of avian mortality associated with collisions with transmission lines in Canada by incorporating detection, scavenging, and crippling biases. There are 231,966 km of transmission lines across Canada, mostly in the boreal forest. Mortality estimates ranged from 1 million to 229.5 million birds per year, depending on the bias corrections applied. We consider our most realistic estimate, taking into account variation in risk across Canada, to range from 2.5 million to 25.6 million birds killed per year. Data from multiple studies across Canada and the northern U.S. indicate that the most vulnerable bird groups are (1) waterfowl, (2) grebes, (3) shorebirds, and (4) cranes, which is consistent with other studies. Populations of several groups that are vulnerable to collisions are increasing across Canada (e.g., waterfowl, raptors), which suggests that collision mortality, at current levels, is not limiting population growth. However, there may be impacts on other declining species, such as shorebirds and some species at risk, including Alberta’s Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) and western Canada’s endangered Whooping Cranes (Grus americana). Collisions may be more common during migration, which underscores the need to understand impacts across the annual cycle. We emphasize that these estimates are preliminary, especially considering the absence of Canadian studies.

Seasonal trends in the stable isotopic composition of snow and meltwater runoff in a subarctic catchment at Okstindan, Norway

Seasonal variations in the stable isotopic composition of snow and meltwater were investigated in a sub-arctic, mountainous, but non-glacial, catchment at Okstindan in northern Norway based on analyses of delta(18)O and deltaD. Samples were collected during four field periods (August 1998; April 1999; June 1999 and August 1999) at three sites lying on an altitudinal transect (740-970 m a.s.l.). Snowpack data display an increase in the mean values of delta(18)O (increasing from a mean value of - 13.51 to - 11.49% between April and August), as well as a decrease in variability through the melt period. Comparison with a regional meteoric water line indicates that the slope of the delta(18)O - deltaD line for the snowpacks decreases over the same period, dropping from 7.49 to approximately 6.2. This change points to the role of evaporation in snowpack ablation and is confirmed by the vertical profile of deuterium excess. Snowpack seepage data, although limited, also suggest reduced values of deltaD, as might be associated with local evaporation during meltwater generation. In general, meltwaters were depleted in delta(18)O relative to the source snowpack at the peak of the melt (June), but later in the year (August) the difference between the two was not statistically significant. The diurnal pattern of isotopic composition indicates that the most depleted meltwaters coincide with the peak in temperature and, hence, meltwater production.

Mineral and geochemical characterization of a leptic aluandic soil and a thapto aluandic-ferralsol developed on trachytes in Mount Bambouto (Cameroon volcanic line)

Mineral and geochemical investigations were carried out on soil samples and fresh rock (trachytes) from two selected soil profiles (TM profile on leptic aluandic soils and TL profile on thapto aluandic-ferralsols) from Mount Bambouto to better understand geochemical processes and mineral paragenesis involved in the development of soils in this environment. In TM profile, the hydrated halloysites and goethite occur in the weathered saprolite boulders of BC horizon while dehydrated halloysite, gibbsite and goethite dominate the soils matrices of BC and A horizons. In TL profile, the dehydrated halloysites and goethite are the most abundant secondary minerals in the weathered saprolites of C and BC horizons while gibbsite, hematite and kaolinite occur in the soil matrices of BC, B and A horizons. The highest gibbsite content is in the platy nodules of B horizon. In both soil profiles, organo-metal complexes (most likely of AI and Fe) are present in the surface A horizon. Geochemically, between the fresh rock and the weathered saprolites in both soils, SiO2, K2O, CaO, Na2O and MgO contents decrease strongly while Fe2O3 and Al2O3 tend to accumulate. The molar ratio of SiO2/Al2O3 (Ki) and the sum of Ca, Mg, K and Na ions (TRB) also decreases abruptly between fresh rocks and the weathered saprolites, but increases significantly at the soil surface. The TM profile shows intense Al enrichment whereas the TL profile highlights enrichment in both AI and Fe as the weathering progresses upwards. Both soil profiles are enriched in Ni, Cu, Ba and Co and depleted in U, Th, Ta, Hf, Y, Sr, Pb, Zr and Zn relative to fresh rock. They also show a relatively low fractionation of the rare earth elements (REE: La, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Yb and Lu), except for Ce which tends to be enriched in soils compared to CI chondrite. All these results give evidence of intense hydrolysis at soil deep in Mount Bambouto resulting in the formation of halloysite which progressively transforms into gibbsite and/or dehydrated halloysite. At the soil surface, the prominent pedogenetic process refers to andosolization with formation of organo-metal complexes. In TL profile, the presence of kaolinite in soil matrices BC and B horizons is consistent with ferralitization at soil deep. In conclusion, soil forming processes in Mount Bambouto are strongly influenced by local climate: (i) in the upper mountain (>2000 m), the fresh, misty and humid climate favors andosolization; whereas (ii) in the middle lands (1700-2000 m) with a relatively dry climate, both andosolization at the soil surface and ferralitization at soil deep act together. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sampling uncertainty properties of cloud fraction estimates from random transect observations

[1] Cloud cover is conventionally estimated from satellite images as the observed fraction of cloudy pixels. Active instruments such as radar and Lidar observe in narrow transects that sample only a small percentage of the area over which the cloud fraction is estimated. As a consequence, the fraction estimate has an associated sampling uncertainty, which usually remains unspecified. This paper extends a Bayesian method of cloud fraction estimation, which also provides an analytical estimate of the sampling error. This method is applied to test the sensitivity of this error to sampling characteristics, such as the number of observed transects and the variability of the underlying cloud field. The dependence of the uncertainty on these characteristics is investigated using synthetic data simulated to have properties closely resembling observations of the spaceborne Lidar NASA-LITE mission. Results suggest that the variance of the cloud fraction is greatest for medium cloud cover and least when conditions are mostly cloudy or clear. However, there is a bias in the estimation, which is greatest around 25% and 75% cloud cover. The sampling uncertainty is also affected by the mean lengths of clouds and of clear intervals; shorter lengths decrease uncertainty, primarily because there are more cloud observations in a transect of a given length. Uncertainty also falls with increasing number of transects. Therefore a sampling strategy aimed at minimizing the uncertainty in transect derived cloud fraction will have to take into account both the cloud and clear sky length distributions as well as the cloud fraction of the observed field. These conclusions have implications for the design of future satellite missions. This paper describes the first integrated methodology for the analytical assessment of sampling uncertainty in cloud fraction observations from forthcoming spaceborne radar and Lidar missions such as NASA's Calipso and CloudSat.